Although energy prices have come down in recent months, it isn’t enough for some UK residents to heat their homes in these testing times, and an announcement of further support as part of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement would have been welcomed.
With this in mind, energy experts at Utility Bidder have shared 5 tips to heat your home for longer this winter, as well as providing comment on how the proposals set out by Jeremy Hunt will impact homeowners.
1 – Utilise daylight
The UK often experiences spells of bright sun throughout the autumn and winter months, so it’s important to use this to your advantage. Make sure all curtains and blinds are fully open so that the light projected by the sun can help to heat up different rooms within the house.
2 – Strategically place furniture
It’s unlikely you’ll be able to last all of the autumn and winter months without putting the heat on, so to use as little energy as possible, make sure there are no items of furniture such as a sofa in front of the radiator, as this will soak up the majority of the heat. Instead, leave the radiators exposed in order for them to heat the whole room.
3 – Make the most of shower steam
When taking a hot shower, you’ll often find the bathroom becomes filled with steam which in turn produces heat. Before taking a shower, leave the bathroom door open so that some of the steam and heat warms the surrounding areas of the home, which will hopefully leave you feeling warmer for longer.
4 – Place curtains behind the radiator
When radiators within the home are turned on, it’s important to not allow the curtains to cover the radiator, as this will direct the heat towards the window. Instead, make sure the radiator is exposed by gently placing the curtains behind the radiator, which will help to heat the entire room.
5 – Keep out any drafts
It may sound simple but any areas exposed to drafts can bring in cold air and let warm air out. With this in mind, make sure all doors and a draft excluder at the bottom of them and don’t forget about pet flaps and letter boxes. If you can, fixing your letter box so that any drafts can’t enter the home will have a big impact.
James Longley, Managing Director at Utility Bidder, has also responded to the Autumn Statement delivered by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, and profiled how the steps profiled could impact UK homeowners:
“Many UK homeowners will be one edge this week as Ofgem’s energy price cap is set to rise by 5% and up to £100, and any such announcement for the rate stretching from January through till the end of March should be imminent.
“This was not something mentioned during the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, nevertheless, a rise in the national living wage for April 2024 and a fall in headline inflation to 2.8% by the end of next year were just two of the factors outlined by Jeremy Hunt that will help UK residents in the long-run.
“In the short term though, the battle to heat homes in the winter remains, and homeowners can take into account multiple backs to heat their homes and stretch their energy resources as far as possible, from utilising daylight to strategically placing furniture in the home.
“Perhaps the main factor from Hunt’s statement that concerns the energy sector is his plan to slash energy bills for homeowners who are situated near pylons.
“He provided a promise of lower electricity bills for those living near power infrastructure as part of measures to cut grid access delays by 90%. This will be incentivised with the offer of £10,000 off electricity bills over 10 years for those living closest to new power substations.
“This will leave many UK residents wondering where they are eligible for such savings, and to this point, it is also unclear whether taxpayers will help foot the bill.”
